A Child is Killed by Her Car but Hema Malini's Injuries Make the Headlines
P1, Hindustan Times, Mumbai edition
Social media on Friday erupted in outrage at the callous manner in which an accident involving BJP MP Hema Malini’s car was covered by the media, pointing out that the entire emphasis was on her injuries rather than the death of a 4-year-old girl.
“Hema Malini Injured in Road Accident” said a panel in large type on the masthead of the Hindustan Times in Mumbai, with a smaller headline underneath it saying, “One killed as MPs car collides with another car.” Twitteratis cited this as an example of the VIP culture that had now become rampant not just in the media but in general.
Said one tweet:
Media busy discussing no. of stitches on #HemaMalini's face
No news of the injured family.
Their loss is bigger than stitches on Hema's face— Naqui (@naqui_s) July 3, 2015
And another:
The news should be- child dies as Hema Malini's Mercedes clashes with an alto but sadly enough, it is- #HemaMalini injured. #Sad
— Shivani Bazaz (@shivanibazaz) July 2, 2015
Mumbai Mirror had the story on page 5, but the headline followed this trend: “Hema Malini injured in car accident in Rajasthan, 1 killed,” while its stable mate, the venerable Times of India said on page 1, “Dream Girl’s Nightmare: Child killed, Hema Hurt in Road Mishap”, accompanied by a photo of a bloodied actor turned politician. In its Delhi edition, the newspaper only had room for 'Dream Girls Nightmare'.
P1, TOI Delhi edition
The Telegraph, Kolkata was more direct: “Hema injured in car crash,” said the stark headline, completely ignoring any mention of the others. Dainik Jagran, India’s largest selling Hindi paper, had an item on page 1, following the general pattern around the country: “Hema Malini sadak hadse mein ghayal” (Hema Malini injured in road accident.” The venerable Hindu too felt her plight was more newsworthy: “Hema Malini injured in road accident” it informed its readers, while the Indian Express was more balanced, with “Hema Malini hurt, child dead in mishap.”
P1, The Hindu, Delhi edition
Hindi newspapers, in general, appear to framed the story better. "Hema Malini ki car se bachi ki maut, khud bhi ghayal" ('A child killed by Hema Malini's car, she too is injured') said Dainik Bhaskar, while Hindustan had "Hema ghayal, ek bachi ki maut"('Hema injured, a child dies').
Television was as insensitive as the English language press. Many viewers complained about what they saw was hypercoverage of Malini’s injuries rather than the death of a child and the injuries to her mother.
The parody Twitter handle, @RushdieExplainsIndia put it succinctly: “A scratch on an Indian celebrity is worth the life of an ordinary Indian.”
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